A graduate of Harvard University, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's manor, he developed the land by encouraging tenants to settle it, and granting them perpetual leases at moderate rates, which enabled the tenants to use more of their capital to make their farms and businesses productive.

Van Rensselaer was a supporter of higher education; he served on the board of trustees for several schools and colleges, and was the founder of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was also a civic activist and philanthropist, and was a founder of Albany's public library and the city's Institute of History & Arts.

After Van Rensselaer's 1839 death, efforts by his sons to collect past due lease payments led to the Anti-Rent War, and the break up and sale of the manor, as the heir to and then owner of one of the largest estates in New York, Van Rensselaer's holdings made him the tenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP.

Van Rensselaer was raised by his mother and stepfather, the Rev. Eilardus Westerlo, whom his mother married in 1775, and his Livingston grandfather.[4] His uncle, Abraham Ten Broeck, administered the Van Rensselaer estate after the untimely death of Van Rensselaer's father, at an early age, Van Rensselaer was raised to succeed his father as lord of the manor.[3] Stephen's younger brother Philip S. Van Rensselaer (1767–1824), later served as Mayor of Albany from 1799 to 1816 and again from 1819 to 1820.

On his 21st birthday, Van Rensselaer took possession of Rensselaerswyck, his family's 1,200 square mile (3,072 km²) estate, and began a long tenure as lord of the manor.[7] Van Rensselaer desired to profit from the land, but was extremely reluctant to sell it off.[8] Instead, he developed the land by granting perpetual leases at moderate rates; Van Rensselaer derived a steady rental income from his property, while tenants were able to become successful farmers without having to pay a large purchase price up front.[9] This meant that they could invest more in their operations, which led to increased productivity in the area, over time, Van Rensselaer became landlord to more than 80,000 tenants.[10] He generally proved to be a lenient landowner; he accepted produce such as grain and firewood in place of cash for rent payments,[11] and when tenants found themselves in financial difficulty, he usually preferred to accept late or partial payments rather than evict them.[12] One facet of the leases Van Rensselaer granted was the "quarter-sale"—tenants who sold their leases were required to pay Van Rensselaer one fourth of the sale price or one additional year's rent,[13] over time, this requirement became a point of contention between Van Rensselaer and the tenants, which in part led to the Anti-Rent War.[13]

In 1791, Van Rensselaer was one of the incorporators of the Albany Library, which evolved over time into the Albany Public Library, and he was chosen to serve on the board of trustees.[14]

In the First Census of the United States in 1790, it was noted that he owned fifteen slaves.[15] By the time of the 1830 Census, he had none, in keeping with New York's gradual emancipation law, under which all slaves in the state were freed by 1827.[16] Van Rensselaer later became an advocate of enabling African Americans to emigrate to colonies in Africa, such as Liberia, and he served as a vice president of the Albany Auxiliary Society and the American Colonization Society.[17][18]

In 1825 Van Rensselaer cast the vote that likely decided the presidential election in favor of John Quincy Adams, because none of the four candidates received a majority of electoral votes in the 1824 presidential election, the U.S. House had to choose from the top three finishers—Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William H. Crawford. House members voted first individually by state, and then each state cast one ballot for the candidate who received a majority of the state's House delegation; a candidate had to carry 13 state delegations to win the election. Van Rensselaer had intended to vote for Crawford, but changed his mind and voted for Adams, his vote gave Adams a majority of the New York delegation; winning New York gave Adams 13 states in the House vote, to seven for Jackson and four for Crawford.[27]

Van Rensselaer's militia experience led to an appointment to command troops during the War of 1812. When war was declared on Great Britain in June 1812, Van Rensselaer was a leading Federalist candidate for Governor of New York. Democratic-Republican Party leaders, including President James Madison and incumbent New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins devised a way to remove Van Rensselaer from the campaign by offering him command of the Army of the Centre—U.S. militia and regular Army troops massing in upstate New York for an invasion of Canada. If Van Rensselaer declined a military leadership role during a time of war, he would lose esteem in the eyes of the voters. If he accepted, he would likely be unable to run for governor.

Van Rensselaer accepted; despite having held high rank in the militia, he was largely inexperienced at leading large bodies of troops. As a condition of his acceptance, his cousin Solomon, who had more military experience, was appointed his aide-de-camp, but the Army of the Centre consisted largely of untrained, inexperienced militiamen; under the Constitution, which stressed that the role of the militia was to enforce laws, prevent insurrection, and repel invasion, they did not have to cross into Canada to fight.

The British were in the process of fortifying the Queenston Heights that Van Rensselaer would have to attack, and his officers were itching for action despite their general's desire to delay until his troops were better trained and organized. To make matters worse, Brigadier GeneralAlexander Smyth, Van Rensselaer's subordinate, had a large force of regular Army troops that was theoretically under Van Rensselaer's command, but Smyth refused to subordinate himself to a militia officer. With some of his officers planning to try and force him from command, Van Rensselaer decided to act without Smyth.

On October 13, 1812, Van Rensselaer launched an attack on the British position that would evolve into the Battle of Queenston Heights. Though initially successful, Van Rensselaer's inadequate preparations and his plan of attack were clearly main reasons for what became a major defeat, he was unable to secure the element of surprise, he did not procure enough boats for his men to cross the Niagara River easily, and he was even unable to supply his soldiers with sufficient ammunition. Despite significantly outnumbering the British in the early stages of the battle, the American soldiers, untried and untrained, sometimes refused to cross to the Canadian side of the river. Once the tide of the battle turned, Van Rensselaer was not even able to coax the boatmen into going back over to rescue the doomed attack force, his forces were badly beaten by British troops under generals Isaac Brock and, after Brock's death, Roger Hale Sheaffe.

The defeat at Queenston Heights spelled the end to Van Rensselaer's active military career; after the battle he resigned his post. He continued to serve in the militia, and was the senior major general in the state at the time of his death,[30] despite his military setback, Van Rensselaer was still the Federalist candidate for governor in April 1813; he lost to Tompkins 43,324 votes to 39,713.[20]

Engraving of Van Rensselaer by G. Parker, from a miniature by Charles Fraser, c. 1835

In 1820, Van Rensselaer was elected president of the state Board of Agriculture.[31] Also in 1820, Van Rensselaer was an incorporator of the Albany Savings Bank, and was elected to serve as the bank's president.[19]

In 1824, Van Rensselaer was one of the organizers of the Albany Institute, and was elected its president, this organization later merged with another to form the Albany Institute of History & Art.[19] He was also active in the American Lyceum organization, and served as its president.[32]

When the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company received its corporate charter from the State of New York in 1830, Van Rensselaer was an original incorporator, and he went on to serve as a member of the company's board of directors.[33] New York Life Insurance and Trust operated until 1922, when it merged with the Bank of New York to become the Bank of New York & Trust Company.[34]

Following the 1834 death in France of the Marquis de Lafayette, Van Rensselaer was appointed marshal for the Albany-area commemorations,[19] he led the parade of militia members, fire fighters, Revolutionary War veterans and others, which culminated in speeches and a eulogy by William Buell Sprague.[19]

In 1812, Van Rensselaer took part in the incorporation of the Lancaster School, an institution dedicated to providing an education for children whose parents could not afford to send them to school, and he served on the school's board of trustees;[35][36] in 1813, Van Rensselaer was one of the organizers of The Albany Academy, and was chosen to serve as the first president of the school's board of trustees.[19]

In 1824 Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton established the Rensselaer School (now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI) "for the purpose of instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life".[38] Since its founding, RPI has developed a reputation for academic excellence, particularly in the field of engineering.[39]

Stephen Van Rensselaer IV (1789-1868), inherited the east side of Rensselaerwyck and inherited the manor in 1839 by his father's will. He graduated from Princeton in 1808, he served as major general of militia. During the anti-rent troubles in 1839 he sold his townships, and at his death the manor passed out of the hands of his descendants.[49]

Van Rensselaer died in New York City on January 26, 1839, he was buried in a family cemetery at the Van Rensselaer Manor House, and was later reinterred at Albany Rural Cemetery, Section 14, Lot 1.[52]

Gilbert Stuart
–
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island. Gilbert Stuart is widely considered one of Americas foremost portraitists and his best known work is the unfinished portrait of George Washington that is sometimes referred to as The Athenaeum, begun in 1796 and never finished. Stuart retained the portrait and used it to paint 130 co

United States House of Representatives
–
The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. T

New York (state)
–
New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is

John D. Dickinson
–
John Dean Dickinson was a U. S. Dickinson was born in Middletown, Connecticut and he completed preparatory studies and graduated from Yale College in 1785, and in 1790 he moved to Lansingburgh, New York. He was admitted to the bar in April 1791, and commenced the practice of law in Lansingburgh. Dickinson moved to Troy, New York, and served as pres

1.
John D. Dickinson, New York Congressman

Ambrose Spencer
–
Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician. He attended Yale College from 1779–82, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783 and he studied law with John Canfield at Sharon, Connecticut, with John Bay at Claverack, New York, and with Ezekiel Gilbert at Hudson, New York. He married John Canfields daughter Laura in 1784 and he was admi

1.
Ambrose Spencer

Solomon Van Rensselaer
–
Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer was a United States Representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years. Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9,1774 in East Greenbush, New York and he completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush. He appointed as a cornet United Sta

1.
Solomon Van Rensselaer

Lieutenant Governor of New York
–
The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of New York State. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government, the lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The office is held by Kathy Hochul. Most lieutenant governors take on duties

John Jay
–
John Jay was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay was born into a family of merchants and government officials in New York City. He became a lawyer and joined the New York Committee of Correspondence and he join

1.
John Jay

2.
John Jay's childhood home in Rye, NY is a New York State Historic Site and Westchester County Park managed by the non-profit Jay Heritage Center

Pierre Van Cortlandt
–
Pierre Van Cortlandt was the first Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in March 1768, subsequently, he was a member of the Second Provincial Congress, 1775-1776, and Chairman of its Committee of Safety,1776. On July 9,1776, he was among thirty-eight delegates to ratify the Declaration of Indep

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
–
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer was born on August 27,1738 at the main home of his familys manor, Rensselaerswyck in what is now Watervliet, New York. His parents were Johannes Van Rensselaer and Engeltie Angelica Livingston, who married in 1734 and he was the third of six children, Catherine, Margarita, Jeremiah, Robert, Hendrick, and James. His mother di

New York State Senate
–
The New York State Senate is considered the upper house in the New York State Legislature. It has 63 members each elected to two-year terms, there are no limits on the number of terms one may serve. The New York Constitution provides for a number of members in the Senate. The current format for apportionment has followed the Supreme Court decision

2.
New York State Senate

New York State Assembly
–
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing a number of districts. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits, the Assembly convenes at the State Capitol in Albany. The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly, the Speaker is elected

2.
New York State Assembly

Albany County, New York
–
Albany County is a county in the state of New York, in the United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, as of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204. The county seat is Albany, the state capital, as originally established by the English government in the colonial era, Albany County

Grand Lodge of New York
–
The Grand Lodge of New York is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the U. S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand lodge in the world in terms of membership, the Grand Lodge is over 230 years old, having been founded December 15,1782. GLoNY acts as the body for many functions undertaken throughout the

Morgan Lewis (governor)
–
Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician, and military commander. The second son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Lewis fought in the American Revolutionary War and he served in the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate and was New York State Attorney General and governor of New York. Morgan Lewi

1.
Gubernatorial portrait of Morgan Lewis

Manor of Rensselaerswyck
–
The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as p

1.
Historical marker at the dividing line between the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and the City of Albany.

Stephen Van Rensselaer II
–
Stephen van Rensselaer II was the six and youngest child of Stephen van Rensselaer I and Elizabeth Groesbeck. He was the eighth Patroon of Rensselaerwyck from 1747 to 1769 and he was also the fifth Lord of the Manor. As sole-surviving son, he inherited the Manor of Rensselaerwyck when he was 5 years old, at the age of twenty, Stephen II was commiss

New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for int

4.
Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.

Province of New York
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The majority of this land was soon reassigned by the Crown, leaving territory that included the valleys of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and Vermont. The territory of western New York was Iroquois land, also disputed between the English colonies and New France, and that of Vermont was disputed with the Province of New Hampshire, the province result

British America
–
English America, and later British America, were the English, and later British, territories in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana from 1607 to 1783. After that, British North America was used to describe the remainder of Britains continental North American possessions, the term British North America was first used informally

Albany Rural Cemetery
–
The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7,1844, in Menands, New York, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the United States, many historical American figures are buried there. On April 2,1841, an association was formed to bring the cemetery into being, a committee

1.
Albany Rural Cemetery

2.
Grave of President Chester A. Arthur

Menands, New York
–
Menands /mᵻˈnændz/ is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census, the village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the city line of Albany. Menands would have been first spotted by Europeans around 1609 when Henry Hudson dropped anchor somewhere ne

Federalist Party
–
The Federalist Party was the first American political party. It existed from the early 1790s to 1816, its remnants lasted into the 1820s, the Federalists called for a strong national government that promoted economic growth and fostered friendly relationships with Great Britain, as well as opposition to revolutionary France. The party controlled th

Van Rensselaer family
–
The Van Rensselaer family is of Dutch origin. The Van Rensselaers originally emigrated from the Netherlands to an area along the Hudson River in the present day area of Albany. The Van Rensselaers and other patroons named this young colony New Netherland, many members of the family have been active in politics and in the military. Herman Melville d

1.
Van Rensselaer coat of arms originally had the Dutch motto: niemand zonder; no one without it (the cross). Modern motto: omnibus effulgemus; we shine for all.

Alma mater
–
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma

Harvard College
–
Harvard College is the undergraduate liberal arts college of Harvard University. Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest institution of learning in the United States. The school came into existence in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony—though without a single building, in 1638, the coll

3.
Lt Gov William Stoughton, (1631-1701), Colonial Governor: 1694-99, 1700-01; circa 1700 overlooking one of the buildings of Harvard College

4.
Lowell House in autumn

Harvard University
–
Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberali

Rensselaerswyck
–
The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as p

1.
Historical marker at the dividing line between the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and the City of Albany.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
–
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private research university and space-grant institution located in Troy, New York, with two additional campuses in Hartford and Groton, Connecticut. Numerous American colleges or departments of applied sciences were modeled after Rensselaer, built on a hillside, RPIs 265-acre campus overlooks the city

Major general (United States)
–
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent t

War of 1812
–
Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, t

Battle of Queenston Heights
–
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812 and resulted in a British victory. It took place on 13 October 1812, near Queenston, Upper Canada, the battle was fought as the result of an American attempt to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River before campaigning ended with the onset of winte

2.
The Battle of Queenston Heights by eyewitness James B. Dennis depicts the unsuccessful American landing on 13 October 1812. The village of Queenston is in the right foreground, with Queenston Heights behind. Lewiston is in the left foreground

Anti-Rent War
–
The Anti-Rent War was a tenants revolt in upstate New York during the early 19th century. The incident began with the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer III in 1839, during his life, he preferred to allow rents to accumulate or to accept partial payment when tenants were in financial constraints. The patroons owned all the land on which the tenants in

List of richest Americans in history
–
Virtually all sources agree on John D. Rockefeller Sr. being the richest American in history. The second place is disputed, held by Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor, Bill Gates or Henry Ford depending on the source, further places are a matter of even bigger debate. Bill Gates was the top living person, coming in fifth, Ameri

GDP
–
Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units e

1.
A map of world economies by size of GDP (nominal) in USD, World Bank, 2014.

Patroon
–
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and these inducements to foster colonization and s

Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
–
He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New Yorks Capital District and his estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent Wa

3.
Rensselaer family gravestone in the church of Nijkerk, that Kiliaen bought commemorating his father Hendrick and uncle Johan. He probably purchased this when his first wife died, as her family name, Byllaer, is on the stone in the lower right. Kiliaen named his sons Hendrick and Johan after these men.

Philip Livingston
–
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, Philip graduated from Yale College in 1737 and returned to Albany to serve a mercantile apprenticeship with his father. Through his fathers influence, he also obtained clerkships in Albanys local

1.
Philip Livingston

United States Declaration of Independence
–
Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast, a committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term Declaration of Independence is not used in the document i

1.
1823 facsimile of the engrossed copy

2.
Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration

3.
The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence

4.
This idealized depiction of (left to right) Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson working on the Declaration (Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1900) was widely reprinted.

Beverwyck Manor
–
Beverwyck Manor is a historic home located at Rensselaer in Rensselaer County, New York. It was built between 1839 and 1842 and it is constructed of stucco over brick and consists of a three story, three bay wide central block with the central bay recessed. The central block is flanked by two story, single bay extensions and it has a restrained Neo

1.
Beverwyck Manor

Philip S. Van Rensselaer
–
Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer was the Mayor of Albany, New York on two occasions. He has the third longest tenure of service by an Albany Mayor, after Erastus Corning II, Philip S. Van Rensselaer was born in Albany on April 15,1767. A son of Stephen Van Rensselaer II and Catharina Livingston, he was raised and educated at Van Rensselaer Manor, aft

1.
Contents

Mayor of Albany, New York
–
From 1779 until 1839, mayors were chosen by the New York States Council of Appointment, typically for a one-year term that began in September. From 1840 on, Albanys mayors were elected by the citys residents. Beginning in 1886, mayoral terms began on January 1 of the year after the mayor was elected, a total of 74 men and one woman have served as m

Princeton College
–
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The institution moved to Newark in 1747, then to the current site nine years later, Princeton provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. The university has ties with th

1.
A commemorative 3-cent stamp from 1953 celebrating the bicentennial of Nassau Hall

American Revolution
–
The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a globa

Phi Beta Kappa
–
The Phi Beta Kappa Society - the oldest honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States - is widely recognized and considered as the nations most prestigious honor society. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the arts and sciences and to induct the most outstanding students of arts. Phi Beta Kappa stands f

Albany Public Library
–
Albany Public Library is a public library system serving the city of Albany, New York. The library has seven branches located in neighborhoods of Albany. The branches are circulating libraries that are open to the general public, the library was developed in the 19th century, founded from society libraries and the wealth of private citizens, and cu

1.
Albany Public Library's Washington Avenue Branch

African Americans
–
African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third la

American Colonization Society
–
It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 on the coast of West Africa as a place for free-born American blacks. The two opposed groups found common ground in support of so-called repatriation, among the societys supporters were Charles Fenton Mercer, Henry Clay, John Randolph, Richard Bland Lee and Bushrod Washington. From 1821, thousands

1.
Three early organizers of the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States (popularly known as the American Colonization Society) were (left to right) John Randolph, Henry Clay, and Richard Bland Lee.

4.
Paul Cuffee in 1812.

New York State Route 5
–
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for 370.80 miles across the state of New York in the United States. S. Route 9, here routed along the roads for Interstate 787. Prior to the construction of the New York State Thruway, it was one of two main east–west highways traversing upstate New York, the other being US20, West of New York,

1.
The western terminus of NY 5 at the Pennsylvania state line, from where the first reference and reassurance markers on NY 5 eastbound are visible.

Suffrage
–
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections. The right to run for office is sometimes called candidate eligibility, in many languages, the right to vote is called the active right to vote and the right to run for office is called the passive right to vote. In English, these are called activ

Solomon van Rensselaer
–
Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer was a United States Representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years. Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9,1774 in East Greenbush, New York and he completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush. He appointed as a cornet United Sta

1.
Satellite image of the Niagara River. Flowing from Lake Erie in the south (bottom of image) to Lake Ontario in the north, the river passes around Grand Island before going over Niagara Falls, after which it narrows in the Niagara Gorge. Two hydropower reservoirs are visible just before the river widens after exiting the gorge. The Welland Canal is visible on the far left side of this image. (Source: NASA Visible Earth)

2.
The American Falls with Goat Island to its right.

3.
Queenston, Ontario, then known as Queenstown, Upper Canada, in a c. 1805 watercolour by army surgeon Edward Walsh. The Niagara River is clearly visible.

1.
Gilbert Stuart
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Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island. Gilbert Stuart is widely considered one of Americas foremost portraitists and his best known work is the unfinished portrait of George Washington that is sometimes referred to as The Athenaeum, begun in 1796 and never finished. Stuart retained the portrait and used it to paint 130 copies which he sold for $100 each, throughout his career, Gilbert Stuart produced portraits of over 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents of the United States. C. The National Portrait Gallery, London, Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Gilbert Stuart was born on December 3,1755 in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, a village of North Kingstown, and baptized at Old Narragansett Church on April 11,1756. Stuarts father worked in the first colonial snuff mill in America, Gilbert Stuart moved to Newport, Rhode Island at the age of six, where his father pursued work in the merchant field. In Newport, Stuart first began to show promise as a painter. In 1770, Stuart made the acquaintance of Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander, a visitor of the colonies who made portraits of local patrons and who became a tutor to Stuart. Under the guidance of Alexander, Stuart painted the famous portrait Dr. Hunters Spaniels when he was fourteen years old, the painting is also referred to as Dr. Hunters Dogs by some accounts. In 1771, Stuart moved to Scotland with Alexander to finish his studies, Stuart tried to maintain a living and pursue his painting career, but to no avail, so he returned to Newport in 1773. Stuarts prospects as a portraitist were jeopardized by the onset of the American Revolution, Stuart departed for England in 1775 following the example set by John Singleton Copley. He was unsuccessful at first in pursuit of his vocation, the relationship was beneficial, with Stuart exhibiting at the Royal Academy as early as 1777. By 1782, Stuart had met with success, largely due to acclaim for The Skater, Stuart said that he was suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture. At one point, the prices for his pictures were exceeded only by those of renowned English artists Joshua Reynolds, despite his many commissions, however, Stuart was habitually neglectful of finances and was in danger of being sent to debtors prison. In 1787, he fled to Dublin, Ireland where he painted and accumulated debt with equal vigor, Stuart ended his 18-year stay in Britain and Ireland in 1793, leaving behind numerous unfinished paintings. He returned to the United States and settled briefly in New York City, in 1795, he moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, where he opened a studio. It was here that he gained a foothold in the art world, Stuart painted George Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading in turn to a demand for copies, and keeping Stuart busy and highly paid for years. The most famous and celebrated of these likenesses is known as The Athenaeum and is portrayed on the United States one dollar bill. Stuart, along with his daughters, painted a total of 130 reproductions of The Athenaeum, however, he never completed the original version, after finishing Washingtons face, he kept the original version to make the copies

2.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House

United States House of Representatives
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United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
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Seal of the House
United States House of Representatives
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Republican Thomas Brackett Reed, occasionally ridiculed as "Czar Reed", was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Speaker of the House from 1889 to 1891 and from 1895 to 1899.
United States House of Representatives
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller confer with President Barack Obama at the Oval Office in 2009.

3.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year

4.
John D. Dickinson
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John Dean Dickinson was a U. S. Dickinson was born in Middletown, Connecticut and he completed preparatory studies and graduated from Yale College in 1785, and in 1790 he moved to Lansingburgh, New York. He was admitted to the bar in April 1791, and commenced the practice of law in Lansingburgh. Dickinson moved to Troy, New York, and served as president of the Farmers Bank of Troy, New York, Dickinson was a director and founder of the Rensselaer & Saratoga Insurance Co. in 1814. He served as member of the New York State Assembly from November 1816 to April 1817, Dickinson was elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses from March 4,1819 to March 3,1823. He was one of the trustees of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1824. He served as a member of the committee which received Lafayette on his visits to Troy in 1824 and 1825, Dickinson was elected as an Adams candidate to the Twentieth Congress from March 4,1819 to March 3,1823. He was reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress from March 4,1827 to March 3,1831, after serving in Congress, Dickinson resumed the practice of law in Troy, New York, and died in Troy on January 28,1841. He is interred at Oakwood Cemetery, john Dean Dickinson at Find a Grave

John D. Dickinson
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John D. Dickinson, New York Congressman

5.
Ambrose Spencer
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Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician. He attended Yale College from 1779–82, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783 and he studied law with John Canfield at Sharon, Connecticut, with John Bay at Claverack, New York, and with Ezekiel Gilbert at Hudson, New York. He married John Canfields daughter Laura in 1784 and he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hudson, NY, where he was city clerk from 1786-93. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1793–95, from 1796 to 1801, he was Assistant Attorney General for the Third District, comprising Columbia and Rensselaer counties. He was New York Attorney General from 1802 to 1804, from 1804 to 1819, he was an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, and Chief Justice from 1819 until the end of 1822. He was legislated out of office by the State Constitution of 1821, governor Joseph C. Yates nominated him to be re-appointed, but this was rejected by Bucktails majority in the State Senate, Spencer having been the longtime leader of the Clintonians. Spencer was an elector in 1808, a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821. In 1825, he was the Clintonian candidate for U. S, senator from New York, and received a majority in the State Assembly. The Bucktails majority in the State Senate did not nominate any candidate, the seat remained vacant until the election of Nathan Sanford in 1826. Afterwards Spencer resumed the practice of law in Albany and he was elected to the 21st United States Congress, serving from March 4,1829, to March 3,1831, during this Congress, he was a member of the Committee on Agriculture. He was one of the appointed by the House of Representatives in 1830 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Judge James H. Peck of the U. S. District Court for the District of Missouri. In 1839, he moved to Lyons, New York, and he presided over the 1844 Whig National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1848, he died in Lyons and was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, the University of Pennsylvania awarded him the degree of LL. D. in 1819, and Harvard the same in 1821. His son John Canfield Spencer was U. S. Secretary of War and his grandson Philip Spencer was executed for mutiny in 1842. After the death of Ambroses first wife Laura Canfield, he married Mary Clinton, after Marys death, he married her sister Katherine Clinton. Spencer was a distant cousin of him, biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clinton genealogy Clinton genealogy, at rootsweb List of NY State Attorneys General, gal. of NY The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1849 Canfield genealogy Ambrose Spencer at Find a Grave

Ambrose Spencer
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Ambrose Spencer

6.
Solomon Van Rensselaer
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Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer was a United States Representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years. Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9,1774 in East Greenbush, New York and he completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush. He appointed as a cornet United States Army in 1792, was promoted to captain in July 1793 and he was an adjutant general of New York in 1801,1810, and 1813, and served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant colonel of New York State Militia. He was elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth United States Congresses, and served from March 4,1819 to January 14,1822, when he resigned. He was postmaster of Albany, New York from 1822 to 1839, and from 1841 to 1843, in January 1797, he married his cousin, Harriet Arriet Van Rensselaer, the daughter of Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the owner of Cherry Hill. Van Vechten Van Rensselaer, who died aged 6, rufus King Van Rensselaer, who died aged 3 months. Margarita Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer, who died aged 10 months, Harriet Maria Van Rensselaer, who married Dr. Peter Elmendorf Catharine Visscher Van Rensselaer, who married Rev. Samuel W. Bonney in 1856. Van Rensselaer died near Albany, aged 77 and he was interred in the North Dutch Church Cemetery, in Albany, and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery. His home at Albany, Cherry Hill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, as his sons had all predeceased Solomon, his daughter, Harriet Maria Elmendorf inherited Cherry Hill. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, fellow Citizens Read a Horrid Tale

Solomon Van Rensselaer
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Solomon Van Rensselaer

7.
Lieutenant Governor of New York
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The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of New York State. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government, the lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The office is held by Kathy Hochul. Most lieutenant governors take on duties as assigned to them by the governor. For example, Mary Donohue took on duties in the areas of business, school violence. Donohues predecessor, Betsy McCaughey Ross, worked on Medicare and education policy, Democrat Stan Lundine, who served under Gov. Mario Cuomo, was active on technology and housing issues during his two terms in office. While governor and lieutenant governor are elected by a joint vote in the general election. In 1982, Mario Cuomo won the Democratic nomination for governor, DelBello was elected with Cuomo, but resigned in 1985 complaining that Cuomo did not give him anything to do. McCaughey Ross had been elected on a ticket with Pataki in 1994 and he dropped her from his 1998 re-election ticket and she became a Democrat and ran for governor on the Liberal ticket. Prior to Paterson succeeding Eliot Spitzer on March 17,2008, Mario Cuomo was the last lieutenant governor to be elected governor. In the 1994 statewide election, Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine sought reelection on the Democratic ticket with Gov. Mario Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Lundine was unopposed for renomination on the Democratic ticket. In the Republican primary, academic Betsy McCaughey was the only candidate, ms. McCaughey was selected as a running mate by State Sen. George Pataki. Pataki reportedly also considered sofa bed heiress Bernadette Castro and Assembly Minority Leader Clarence Rappalya as possible running mates as well, the Pataki/McCaughey ticket defeated the Cuomo/Lundine ticket in the general election. In 1997, following an out for most of their term. Pataki embarked on a long process to select a new running mate for lieutenant governor. After reportedly considering State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro, State Sen. Mary Lou Rath and Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples, Judge Donohue was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Several candidates entered the race for the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination, State Sen. Anthony Nanula of Buffalo reportedly considered the race and then decided against running. Councilwoman Kavanaugh withdrew from the race at the Democratic State Convention, Mr. King received enough support to qualify for the September primary ballot and continued his race

Lieutenant Governor of New York
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Incumbent Kathy Hochul since January 1, 2015

8.
John Jay
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John Jay was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States. Jay was born into a family of merchants and government officials in New York City. He became a lawyer and joined the New York Committee of Correspondence and he joined a conservative political faction that, fearing mob rule, sought to protect property rights and maintain the rule of law while resisting British rule. Jay served as the President of the Continental Congress, a position with little power. His major diplomatic achievement was to negotiate trade terms with Great Britain in the Jay Treaty in 1794. Jay, a proponent of strong, centralized government, worked to ratify the U. S, constitution in New York in 1788 by pseudonymously writing five of The Federalist Papers, along with the main authors Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. After the establishment of the U. S. government, Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States, as a leader of the new Federalist Party, Jay was the Governor of the State of New York, where he became the states leading opponent of slavery. His first two attempts to end slavery in New York in 1777 and 1785 failed, but a third in 1799 succeeded, the 1799 Act, a gradual emancipation he signed into law, eventually granted all slaves in New York their freedom before his death in 1829. The Jays were a prominent merchant family in New York City, in 1685 the Edict of Nantes had been revoked, thereby abolishing the rights of Protestants and confiscating their property. Among those affected was Jays paternal grandfather, Augustus Jay and he moved from France to New York, where he built a successful merchant empire. Jays father, Peter Jay, born in New York City in 1704, became a trader in furs, wheat, timber. Johns mother was Mary Van Cortlandt, who had married Peter Jay in 1728 and they had ten children together, seven of whom survived into adulthood. Marys father, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, had born in New Amsterdam in 1658. Cortlandt served on the New York Assembly, was mayor of New York City. Two of his children married into the Jay family, Jay spent his childhood in Rye. He was educated there by his mother until he was eight years old, in 1756, after three years, he would return to homeschooling in Rye under the tutelage of his mother and George Murray. In 1760, Jay attended Kings College, during this time, Jay made many influential friends, including his closest, Robert Livingston—the son of a prominent New York aristocrat and Supreme Court justice. Jay took the political stand as his father, a staunch Whig

9.
Pierre Van Cortlandt
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Pierre Van Cortlandt was the first Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in March 1768, subsequently, he was a member of the Second Provincial Congress, 1775-1776, and Chairman of its Committee of Safety,1776. On July 9,1776, he was among thirty-eight delegates to ratify the Declaration of Independence at White Plains, as a Colonel, and later General, be commanded the Third Westchester Militia Regiment and later was advanced to be a General. Gen. George Washington ever referred to Pierre Van Cortlandt as his most trusted friend and ally. With NY Gov. George Clinton away from the state in active service, Lt. Gov. Van Cortlandt had full charge of the revolutionary government of the state. On November 25,1783 this earnest patriot accompanied General Washington on his triumphant ride into New York City and he was made an original honorary member of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati on July 6,1784. In 1787 he was elected President of the State Convention meeting in Poughkeepsie to ratify the Constitution of the United States and he was born in New York City, the son of Philip Van Cortlandt, and Catherine de Peyster. Pierres uncle Johannes de Peyster, Jr. was Mayor of New York City and his great uncle Jacobus Van Cortlandt was Mayor of New York City, 1719-1720. In 1697, King William III granted by Royal Charter, Van Cortlandt Manor to his grandfather, the Van Cortlandt Manor House was built sometime before 1732 but was not any owners principal residence until Pierre moved there in 1749. In 1748, Pierre inherited from his father the Van Cortlandt Manor House and he diversified and organized the Croton lands to develop income-producing tenant farms. Pierre maintained the Van Cortlandt Manor House and lands as a farmer/planter, upon the survey of the Manor of Cortlandt, Annsville and lands adjoining constituted a portion of Front Lot No. 10, the river portion lot that was bequeathed to Gertrude Beekman, Pierres aunt and daughter and it was on 340 acres of Gertrudes land where Pierre built the Upper Manor House and farm. Two miles to the north was Front Lot No,10, on which another Van Cortlandt mansion, Oldstone, was built, and later near the bay the Fort Independence Hotel. Fort Independence was located on the bluff on the western end of Roa Hook. Where a spacious mansion was built about 1769. “The situation of the Van Cortlandt estate is very fine, covering, as it does, some of the most graceful undulations of a hilly district, diversified with the richest scenery. The old brick mansion erected A. D.1773, occupies a very sequestered and romantic spot on the side of the post road, immediately above the vale of Annsville. ”In 1749, Pierre turned the familys simple hunting lodge into an elegant residence known as Van Cortlandt Manor House. The house remained in the Van Cortlandt family until 1945 and was purchased in 1953 by John D. Rockefeller Jr. to assure its preservation, the restored manor house was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1961

10.
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
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Jeremiah Van Rensselaer was born on August 27,1738 at the main home of his familys manor, Rensselaerswyck in what is now Watervliet, New York. His parents were Johannes Van Rensselaer and Engeltie Angelica Livingston, who married in 1734 and he was the third of six children, Catherine, Margarita, Jeremiah, Robert, Hendrick, and James. His mother died before he was 10 years-old and his father remarried and his older sister was Catherine van Rensselaer who in 1755 married Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary general and United States Senator from New York. Roberts son and Jeremiahs nephew was Jacob Van Rensselaer, a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly and the Secretary of State of New York from 1813 to 1815. Van Rensselaer was tutored at the house, attended private school in Albany, New York. Jeremiah was descended from and married into the best provincial families in New York including the Livingstons, Schuylers, Van Cortlandts, Van Schaicks and he had many noteworthy cousins, including Killian K. Van Rensselaer, who was also a U. S. Representative that served in Congress from 1803 until 1811 and his maternal grandparents were Robert Livingston, Jr. and Margarita Schuyler. His maternal great-grandparents were Pieter Schuyler, the first Mayor of Albany, Van Rensselaer became a land agent, merchant, and surveyor. In 1766, he was a signer of the constitution of the Albany Sons of Liberty, during the American Revolutionary War he was commissioned as an ensign in the third regiment of the New York Line where he served as a paymaster. He was elected to the First United States Congress and served from March 4,1789 to March 3,1791, in 1789, he was member of the New York State Assembly. In 1791, he was a member of the first board of directors of the Bank of Albany and he was a presidential elector in 1800, voting for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Van Rensselaer was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1801 to 1804 and he was curator of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary at Albany in 1804. On July 3,1760, he married Judith Bayard, the great-granddaughter of Nicholas Bayard, together, they had one son, Johannes John Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, who married Catharina Glen. In February 1764, after his first wifes death of Yellow Fever, he married Helena Lena Lansing, Lena was a cousin to John Ten Eyck Lansing Jr. He died on February 19,1810 in Albany and was buried in the Dutch Reformed cemetery there and his body was later moved to the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York. The Political Graveyard, Van Rensselaer family of New York United States Congress, biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Jeremiah Van Rensselaer at Find a Grave

11.
New York State Senate
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The New York State Senate is considered the upper house in the New York State Legislature. It has 63 members each elected to two-year terms, there are no limits on the number of terms one may serve. The New York Constitution provides for a number of members in the Senate. The current format for apportionment has followed the Supreme Court decision in Baker v. Carr, Democrats won 32 of 62 seats in New Yorks upper chamber in the 2008 General Election on November 4, capturing the majority for the first time in more than four decades. Previously, the Republicans had held the chamber for all but one year from 1939 to 2008, however, a power struggle emerged before the new term began. Four Democratic senators—Rubén Díaz, Sr. Carl Kruger, Pedro Espada, Jr. the self-named Gang of Four refused to back Malcolm Smith as the chambers majority leader and sought concessions. Monserrate soon reached an agreement with Smith that reportedly included the chairmanship of the Consumer Affairs Committee, though there were 32 Democrats and 30 Republicans in the Senate, on June 8,2009, then-Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada, Jr. The move came after Republican whip Tom Libous introduced a resolution to vacate the chair and replace Smith as temporary president. In an effort to stop the vote, Democratic whip Jeff Klein unilaterally moved to recess, however, they were unable to stop the session. All 30 Republicans plus two Democrats, Monserrate and Espada, voted in favor of the resolution, in accordance with a prearranged deal, Espada was elected temporary president and acting lieutenant governor while Skelos was elected majority leader. Monserrate had backed out of the Gang at the time, being the first of the four to back Smith, the apparent Republican seizure of power was tenuous in any event. Smith claimed the vote was illegal because of Kleins motion to adjourn, however, Smith, Klein, and most of the Democrats walked out before an actual vote to adjourn could be taken. Smith still asserted he was majority leader and would challenge the vote in court and he locked the doors of the state senate chambers in an effort to prevent any further legislative action. The scheduled session was eventually postponed, both Monserrate and Espada faced accusations of unethical or criminal conduct. Monserrate was indicted for assault in March and would have automatically lost his seat if convicted. New York, like most states, has a provision in its constitution which bars convicted felons from holding office. Espada was the target of an investigation into whether he funded his campaign with money siphoned from a nonprofit health care agency he controls. The Bronx County District Attorneys office was investigating charges that Espada actually resided in Mamaroneck

New York State Senate
New York State Senate
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New York State Senate

12.
New York State Assembly
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The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing a number of districts. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits, the Assembly convenes at the State Capitol in Albany. The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly, the Speaker is elected by the Majority Conference followed by confirmation of the full Assembly through the passage of an Assembly Resolution. In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker also has the leadership position. The minority leader is elected by party caucus, the majority leader of the Assembly is selected by, and serves at the pleasure of, the Speaker. The current Speaker is Democrat Carl Heastie of the 83rd Assembly District, the Majority Leader is Joseph Morelle of the 136th Assembly District. The Minority Leader is Republican Brian Kolb of the 131st Assembly District, the Assembly is dominated by the Democrats, who currently hold a 62-seat supermajority in the chamber. The Democrats have controlled the Assembly since 1975, †Elected in a special election Prominent past Assembly members include U. S. Senator Chuck Schumer, U. S. presidents Millard Fillmore and Theodore Roosevelt, U. S. vice presidents Aaron Burr and George Clinton, and New York governors George Pataki and Al Smith

New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
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New York State Assembly

13.
Albany County, New York
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Albany County is a county in the state of New York, in the United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, as of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204. The county seat is Albany, the state capital, as originally established by the English government in the colonial era, Albany County had an indefinite amount of land, but has had an area of 530 square miles since March 3,1888. The county is named for the Duke of York and of Albany, Albany County constitutes the central core of the Capital District of New York State, which comprises the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. After England took control of New Netherland from the Dutch, Albany County was created on November 1,1683 by New York Governor Thomas Dongan, Livingston Manor was annexed to Albany County from Dutchess County in 1717. Albanys boundaries were defined more closely as various state statutes would add land to the county, Albany was established as a city in 1686 by Governor Dongan through the Dongan Charter after the English took over the colony. Schenectady to the west was given a patent with some rights in 1684. The Manor of Rensselaerswyck was created as a district within the county in 1772, the west district included all of what is now Albany County with the exception of what lands were in the city of Albany at that time. Though the Manor of Rensselaerswyck was the district in what is today Albany County. Pittstown in 1761, and Duanesburgh in 1764, were created as townships, but when districts were created in 1772, those townships were incorporated into new districts, Pittstown in Schaghticoke and Duanesburgh into the United Districts of Duanesburgh and Schoharie. Schenectady was made from a borough to a district in 1772 as well, other districts established in 1772 were Hoosick, Coxsackie, Cambridge, Saratoga, Halfmoon, Kinderhook, Kings, Claverack, Great Imboght, and the Manor of Livingston. In a census of 1697, there were 1,452 individuals living in Albany County, by the end of the war in 1698, the population had dropped to 1,482, but rebounded quickly and was at 2,273 by 1703. By 1723, it had increased to 6,501 and in 1731 to 8,573, in 1737, the inhabitants of Albany County would outnumber those of New York County by 17 people. In 1774, Albany County, with 42,706 people, was the largest county in colonial New York, according to the first Federal Census in 1790, Albany County reached 75,921 inhabitants and was still the largest county in the state. On March 7,1788, the state of New York divided the state into towns eliminating districts as administrative units by passing New York Laws of 1788. Albany County was one of the twelve counties created by the Province of New York on November 1,1683. At that time it included all of New York state north of Dutchess and Ulster counties, all of what is now Bennington County in Vermont, on May 27,1717, Albany County was adjusted to gain an indefinite amount of land from Dutchess County and other non-county lands. Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River, implicitly setting the limit of Albany County

14.
Grand Lodge of New York
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The Grand Lodge of New York is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the U. S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand lodge in the world in terms of membership, the Grand Lodge is over 230 years old, having been founded December 15,1782. GLoNY acts as the body for many functions undertaken throughout the state. Its various committees organize blood drives, the New York Masonic Safety Identification Program -, the GLoNY has jurisdiction over approximately 60,000 Freemasons, organized in more than 800 Lodges, most of them located within New York State. As no authenticated records exist of his tenure as Provincial Grand Master, from 1738 to the 1780s additional Warrants were issued by GLE to Francis Goelet, to George Harrison and to Sir John Johnson. Additional lodges were chartered in New York by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of New York was officially organized on December 15,1782, under the Provincial Grand Warrant dated September 5,1781, from the “Athol” or Antient Grand Lodge of England. The Grand Lodge declared its independence and assumed its modern title “Grand Lodge of Free, while the Athol Charter descended from the Ancients, Livingston himself was a member of a Modern Lodge. Thus the two rival Grand Lodge traditions, which in England did not unite until 1813, had already merged before that in New York State, St. Johns Lodge, chartered in 1757, is the oldest operating Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York. St. Johns Lodge is the custodian of what is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible, on April 30,1789 it was upon this Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. In 2009, the Lodge formed a public charity for the purpose of preserving, maintaining and restoring the George Washington Inaugural Bible. In 2014, the St. Johns Lodge No.1 Foundation, GLoNY has a long history of supporting charitable causes. Among the organizations that are rooted in its charitable endeavors are, the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Acacia Village and Masonic Home in Utica, the Chancellor Robert R. The Grand Lodge sponsors Child Identification Programs, Drug and Alcohol Awareness programs in schools, and gives thousands of dollars a day to worthy charities around the State. A notice was sent out to all Grand Lodges with which the GLoNY is in amity, furthermore, the committees tenure was continued for an additional two years in order to determine if further measures need to be taken. The Organization of Triangles Inc. is a Masonic youth movement for women aged between 10 and 21 years old. The Organization of Triangles Inc. was founded in 1925 by Rose E. Scherer in the State of New York, since almost ninety years, the Triangle has provided the young a vibrant and dynamic group where they can make friends and improve. The founder of the Organization of Triangles Inc, Rose E. Scherer was born on the 18th of November of the year 1883, in the city of New York. Scherer was Great Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, the current Grand Master is Jeffery Williamson

15.
Morgan Lewis (governor)
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Morgan Lewis was an American lawyer, politician, and military commander. The second son of Francis Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Lewis fought in the American Revolutionary War and he served in the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate and was New York State Attorney General and governor of New York. Morgan Lewis was born on October 16,1754, of Welsh descent, the son of Francis Lewis, Lewis grew up in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. However, based on his fathers advice, he attended the College of New Jersey, graduating in 1773 and he read law alongside John Jay. His studies were interrupted by service during the American Revolutionary War. He was admitted to the bar in 1783, from September 1,1776, to the end of the war he was a colonel and the Quartermaster General for the Northern Department. In 1774, he joined the American Revolution as a volunteer in the Continental Army, Lewis was then made a captain of a regiment of the New York militia. Once the 2nd New York militia regiment was organized, he was promoted to the rank of major. In 1775, he planned and executed the attack on Stone Arabia, and was in command at the battle of Crown Point. He was prominent throughout the campaign ended with the surrender of John Burgoyne at Saratoga. After the Revolution, Lewis completed his studies while living in Albany, New York. In 1779, the tax list showed him living there with personal property valued at $2,000, later, he qualified for a bounty right as a member of the city regiment of the Albany County Militia. During that time, he acquired some Albany property and he was elected to the New York State Assembly,1789 and 1792, and the New York State Senate from 1811 to 1814. He was New York State Attorney General and later Justice and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York and he served as governor of New York from 1804 to 1807, defeating Vice President Aaron Burr in the race to succeed future vice president George Clinton as governor. During his tenure, the United States Military Academy at West Point was established, the militia system was restructured. On April 30,1807, he was defeated in his run for re-election by Daniel D. Tompkins, Tompkins received 35,074 votes, and Morgan Lewis received 30,989 votes. He then returned home to Staatsburg, Dutchess County, New York, having given up the practice of law, Lewis established a cloth factory, and for several years devoted himself to manufacturing. The failure of a house to which his goods were assigned caused him to discontinue the business

Morgan Lewis (governor)
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Gubernatorial portrait of Morgan Lewis

16.
Manor of Rensselaerswyck
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The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia, under the terms of the patroonship, the patroon had nearly total jurisdictional authority, establishing civil and criminal law, villages, a church. Tenant farmers were allowed to work on the land, but had to pay rent to the owners, in addition, the Rensselaers harvested timber from the property. The patroonship was maintained intact by Rensselaer descendants for more than two centuries and it was split up after the death of its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaers land holdings made him the tenth-richest American in history to date, the manor was split between Stephen IIIs sons, Stephen IV and William. Tenant farmers began protesting the feudal system and their anti-rent movement was eventually successful, Stephen IV and William sold off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s. For length of operations, it was the most successful patroonship established under the West India Company system and this established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States-General, in 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to attract capitalists to the colony, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan, to meet such cases, the West India Company adopted the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend 16 miles in length if confined to one side of a river or 8 miles if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there, each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers, each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding. Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances, for example, fur trading was illegal for colonists, it was reserved as a Company monopoly. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, each patroon was required to satisfy the Indians of that place for the land, implying that the land must be bought from the local Indians, and not just taken. Additionally, the Company agreed to all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors. For longer time than it shall see fit, Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was one of the original directors of the West India Company and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. This took place even before the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was ratified, on April 8,1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River

Manor of Rensselaerswyck
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Historical marker at the dividing line between the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and the City of Albany.
Manor of Rensselaerswyck
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Poster announcing an Anti-Rent meeting in the town of Nassau

17.
Stephen Van Rensselaer II
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Stephen van Rensselaer II was the six and youngest child of Stephen van Rensselaer I and Elizabeth Groesbeck. He was the eighth Patroon of Rensselaerwyck from 1747 to 1769 and he was also the fifth Lord of the Manor. As sole-surviving son, he inherited the Manor of Rensselaerwyck when he was 5 years old, at the age of twenty, Stephen II was commissioned a captain in the Albany County Militia. He built the new Manor House in 1765, philip S. Stephen Van Rensselaer II died in October 1769 at the age of twenty-seven

Stephen Van Rensselaer II

18.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange

19.
Province of New York
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The majority of this land was soon reassigned by the Crown, leaving territory that included the valleys of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and Vermont. The territory of western New York was Iroquois land, also disputed between the English colonies and New France, and that of Vermont was disputed with the Province of New Hampshire, the province resulted from the Dutch Republic surrender of Provincie Nieuw-Nederland to the Kingdom of England in 1664. Immediately after, the province was renamed for James, Duke of York, the colony was one of the Middle Colonies, and ruled at first directly from England. British claims on any part of New York ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1783, after the American Revolution, the former colony became the State of New York. This British crown colony was established upon the former Dutch colony of New Netherland, with its core being York Shire, in what today is typically known as Downstate New York. The Province of New York was divided into counties on November 1,1683, by New York Governor Thomas Dongan, Albany County. Also claimed the area, later disputed, that is now Vermont, in addition, as there was no fixed western border to the colony, Albany County technically extended to the Pacific Ocean. Most of this land, which was Indian land for most of the history, has now been ceded to other states. Cornwall County, that part of Maine between the Kennebec River and the St. Croix River from the Atlantic Ocean to the St. Lawrence River, ceded to the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1692. Dukes County, the Elizabeth Islands, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket Island east of Long Island, Dutchess County, now Dutchess and Putnam counties. Kings County, the current Kings County, Brooklyn, New York County, the current New York County, Manhattan. Orange County, now Orange and Rockland counties, Queens County, now Queens and Nassau counties. Richmond County, the current Richmond County, Staten Island, Suffolk County, the current Suffolk County. Ulster County, now Ulster and Sullivan counties and part of what is now Delaware, Westchester County, now Bronx and Westchester counties. On March 24,1772, Tryon County was formed out of Albany County and it was renamed Montgomery County in 1784, with a later division to Herkimer County around Little Falls. Charlotte County was formed out of Albany County and it was renamed Washington County in 1784. In 1617 officials of the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland created a settlement at present-day Albany, New Amsterdam surrendered to Colonel Richard Nicholls on August 27,1664, he renamed it New York. On September 24 Sir George Carteret accepted the capitulation of the garrison at Fort Orange, the capture was confirmed by the Treaty of Breda in July 1667

20.
British America
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English America, and later British America, were the English, and later British, territories in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana from 1607 to 1783. After that, British North America was used to describe the remainder of Britains continental North American possessions, the term British North America was first used informally in 1783, but it was uncommon before the Report on the Affairs of British North America, called the Durham Report. British America gained large amounts of new territory following the Treaty of Paris which ended Britains involvement in the Seven Years War, at the start of the American War of Independence in 1775, the British Empire included 20 colonies north and east of New Spain. East and West Florida were ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution, all but one of the remaining colonies of British North America apart from the British West Indies united together from 1867 to 1873 forming the Dominion of Canada. The first such permanent settlement was founded at Jamestown by the Virginia Company whose investors expected to reap rewards from their speculative investments, Virginia Native Americans had established settlements long before the English settlers arrived, and there were an estimated 14,000 natives in the region. Native American political leadership sought to resettle the English colonizers from Jamestown to another location, other colonizers, both English and German, did join the Powhatans. The first colonizers were welcomed by the Indians with dancing, feasting, there were twenty British colonies in North America in 1775

21.
Albany Rural Cemetery
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The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7,1844, in Menands, New York, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the United States, many historical American figures are buried there. On April 2,1841, an association was formed to bring the cemetery into being, a committee of the association selected the site on April 20,1844. The cemetery originally contained 100 acres and this portion was consecrated October 7,1844. The first interment was made in May,1845, located near the entrance is the Louis Menand House. In 1868, bodies from other cemeteries were removed and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery. President Chester A. Arthur - the 21st President of the United States, was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery in Lot 8, Section 24, along with his wife Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur and his memorial was designed by Ephraim Keyser and dedicated on June 15,1889. Friends of the former president contributed a fund that provided $10,000 for the memorial, Erastus Corning - founder and president of the New York Central Railroad, and is located on a large circular plot in Lot 2, Section 31. Erastus Corning 2nd - the great-grandson of Erastus Corning and the mayor of Albany for 41 years and he is also in the Corning family plot. John Van Buren - son of President Martin Van Buren, is buried in lot 28, John Van Buren, a handsome attorney known as Prince John, died at sea on October 13,1866, while on the voyage from Liverpool to New York. His grave in Lot 28, Section 62 is marked by an Italian marble cross, general Stephen Van Rensselaer, the last patroon, who died in 1839, was founder of the scientific school which later became Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His grave is located at Lot 1, Section 14, senator and Governor of New Jersey and a signatory to the Constitution of the United States. Paterson ended his career as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and he is interred in the same plot as his son-in-law, Stephen Van Rensselaer. Thomas Kirby Van Zandt, a painter of horses. Daniel Manning, who died in 1887, was a journalist, politician and banker and his grave is located in Lot 5, Section 27. Erastus Dow Palmer, a sculptor, is buried in Lot 15. He worked in an Albany studio producing statuary and portrait busts for many years before he died in 1904 and he produced two statues which are on exhibit at the United States Capitol Building in Washington D. C. the Robert Livingston Statue and Peace in Bondage. Several of Mr. Palmers works adorn markers at the cemetery, one of which is titled The Angel at the Sepulchre which is located in Lot 1, Section 31, Palmer also designed the granite monument at the grave of William Learned Marcy, a U. S

22.
Menands, New York
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Menands /mᵻˈnændz/ is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census, the village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the city line of Albany. Menands would have been first spotted by Europeans around 1609 when Henry Hudson dropped anchor somewhere near Cuyler or Pleasure Island during his voyage on the later to be named after him. This would be the furthest north on the river that Hudson would go in the Half Moon, today those islands are connected to the mainland, and are the site of Interstate 787 exits 6 and 7, which includes the cloverleaf interchange with NY378 and the Troy-Menands Bridge. Louis Menand settled in the village in 1842 and established an important horticultural business, when the Albany and Northern Railroad was built in 1856 it established a stop in present-day Menands and named the stop Menands Crossing since Menand was the only landowner in that area at the time. When the Albany and Northern became part of the Delaware and Hudson a station was built at that stop, the boundaries of the new village were those of the 15th School District of the town of Colonie. When the Erie Canal was originally constructed it passed through what would become Menands, bridges spanned the canal to allow access to the land between the canal and the Hudson. From north to south they were- Richardson, Mix, Leary, Keyes, Kanes, Lundergans, Island Park, Delaware and Hudson Railroad, most of the names of the bridges were those of the neighboring farm owners. In 1938 the first large scale Federal Housing Administration multiple housing project in Upstate New York was conceived by Harry D. Yates on 13 acres of land in Menands, the land was purchased for $20,000, from the Van Rensselaer family who had owned it since 1639. Original plans called for 30 buildings, but cost overruns trimmed it to 13, in 1940 the now-defunct New York Herald Tribune declared Dutch Village to be one of the most interesting scale housing developments in the East. The steeped roofs and brick construction were designed to reflect early Dutch architecture, one of the largest printing plants in the eastern USA existed in Menands in the forties and fifties. Williams Press at its prime employed more than 1,000 people, built on Broadway with rail tracks behind, Williams printed many of todays magazines such as Business Week, Sports Illustrated and many others, plus most of the New England telephone directories. They were forced to close because of issues, location constraints. The villages current motto, Urban-Suburban Village, and its official seal, the motto and seal were chosen based on contest entries submitted by local school children at Menands Elementary school. Two boys came up with the design for the seal, in the mid-late 19th and early 20th centuries Menands was a popular destination for entertainment and amusement. Pleasure Island and Park Island had trotting tracks and various entertainment venues, in 1884 the Island Park Association leased the race course, Island Park, directly north of Pleasure Island, it was considered one of the fastest and safest in the nation. Among the festivities and activities at Pleasure Island were a bicycle race, a sack race, barrell race, swimming exhibition, trotter race

23.
Federalist Party
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The Federalist Party was the first American political party. It existed from the early 1790s to 1816, its remnants lasted into the 1820s, the Federalists called for a strong national government that promoted economic growth and fostered friendly relationships with Great Britain, as well as opposition to revolutionary France. The party controlled the government until 1801, when it was overwhelmed by the Democratic-Republican opposition led by Thomas Jefferson. The Federalist Party came into being between 1792 and 1794 as a coalition of bankers and businessmen in support of Alexander Hamiltons fiscal policies. These supporters developed into the organized Federalist Party, which was committed to a fiscally sound, the only Federalist president was John Adams, although George Washington was broadly sympathetic to the Federalist program, he remained officially non-partisan during his entire presidency. Federalist policies called for a bank, tariffs, and good relations with Great Britain as expressed in the Jay Treaty negotiated in 1794. Hamilton developed the concept of implied powers and successfully argued the adoption of that interpretation of the United States Constitution, the Jay Treaty passed, and the Federalists won most of the major legislative battles in the 1790s. They held a strong base in the cities and in New England. After the Democratic-Republicans, whose base was in the rural South, won the election of 1800. They recovered some strength by their opposition to the War of 1812. On taking office in 1789, President Washington nominated New York lawyer Alexander Hamilton to the office of Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton wanted a strong national government with financial credibility. James Madison was Hamiltons ally in the fight to ratify the new Constitution, Political parties had not been anticipated when the Constitution was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, even though both Hamilton and Madison played major roles. Parties were considered to be divisive and harmful to republicanism, No similar parties existed anywhere in the world. By 1790 Hamilton started building a nationwide coalition and his attempts to manage politics in the national capital to get his plans through Congress, then, brought strong responses across the country. In the process, what began as a capital faction soon assumed status as a faction and then, finally. The Federalist Party supported Hamiltons vision of a centralized government. In foreign affairs, they supported neutrality in the war between France and Great Britain, the majority of the Founding Fathers were originally Federalists. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and many others can all be considered Federalists and these Federalists felt that the Articles of Confederation had been too weak to sustain a working government and had decided that a new form of government was needed

Federalist Party
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A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1806.
Federalist Party
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Federalist Party
Federalist Party
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John Adams

24.
Van Rensselaer family
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The Van Rensselaer family is of Dutch origin. The Van Rensselaers originally emigrated from the Netherlands to an area along the Hudson River in the present day area of Albany. The Van Rensselaers and other patroons named this young colony New Netherland, many members of the family have been active in politics and in the military. Herman Melville descended from the Van Rensselaer family

Van Rensselaer family
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Van Rensselaer coat of arms originally had the Dutch motto: niemand zonder; no one without it (the cross). Modern motto: omnibus effulgemus; we shine for all.

25.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website

26.
Harvard College
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Harvard College is the undergraduate liberal arts college of Harvard University. Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest institution of learning in the United States. The school came into existence in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony—though without a single building, in 1638, the college became home for North Americas first known printing press, carried by the ship John of London. Three years later, the college was renamed in honor of deceased Charlestown minister John Harvard who had bequeathed to the school his entire library, Harvards first instructor was schoolmaster Nathaniel Eaton, in 1639, he also became its first instructor to be dismissed, for overstrict discipline. The schools first students were graduated in 1642, in 1665, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck from the Wampanoag … did graduate from Harvard, the first Indian to do so in the colonial period. The colleges of Englands Oxford and Cambridge Universities are communities within the university, each an association of scholars sharing room. The Indian College was active from 1640 to no later than 1693, the body known as The President and Fellows of Harvard College retains its traditional name despite having governance of the entire University. Radcliffe College originally paid Harvard faculty to repeat their lectures for women students, since the 1970s, Harvard has been responsible for undergraduate governance matters for women, women were still formally admitted to and graduated from Radcliffe until a final merger in 1999. About 2,000 students are admitted each year, representing between five and ten percent of those applying, of those admitted, approximately three-quarters choose to attend and these figures make Harvard perhaps the most selective and sought-after college in the world. Midway through the year, most undergraduates join one of fifty standard fields of concentration. Joint concentrations and special concentrations are also possible, a smaller number receive the Scientiarum Baccalaureus. There are also special programs, such as a five-year program leading to both a Harvard undergraduate degree and a Master of Arts from the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2012, dozens of students were disciplined for cheating on an exam in one course. The university instituted a code beginning in the fall of 2015. The total annual cost of attendance, including tuition and room and board, under financial aid guidelines adopted in 2012, families with incomes below $65,000 no longer pay anything for their children to attend, including room and board. Families with incomes between $65,000 to $150,000 pay no more than 10% of their annual income, grants total 88% of Harvards aid for undergraduate students, with aid also provided by loans and work-study. Each house is presided over by a senior-faculty Faculty Dean, while its Allston Burr Resident Dean supervises undergraduates day-to-day academic, many tutors reside in the House, as do the Faculty Dean and Resident Dean. The way in which students come to live in particular Houses has changed greatly over time, under the original draft system, Masters negotiated privately over the assignment of rising sophomores considered most—or least—promising

Harvard College
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View of freshman dormitories in Harvard Yard
Harvard College
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Harvard College
Harvard College
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Lt Gov William Stoughton, (1631-1701), Colonial Governor: 1694-99, 1700-01; circa 1700 overlooking one of the buildings of Harvard College
Harvard College
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Lowell House in autumn

27.
Harvard University
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Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model‍—‌many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge‍—‌but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified

28.
Rensselaerswyck
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The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia, under the terms of the patroonship, the patroon had nearly total jurisdictional authority, establishing civil and criminal law, villages, a church. Tenant farmers were allowed to work on the land, but had to pay rent to the owners, in addition, the Rensselaers harvested timber from the property. The patroonship was maintained intact by Rensselaer descendants for more than two centuries and it was split up after the death of its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaers land holdings made him the tenth-richest American in history to date, the manor was split between Stephen IIIs sons, Stephen IV and William. Tenant farmers began protesting the feudal system and their anti-rent movement was eventually successful, Stephen IV and William sold off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s. For length of operations, it was the most successful patroonship established under the West India Company system and this established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States-General, in 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to attract capitalists to the colony, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan, to meet such cases, the West India Company adopted the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend 16 miles in length if confined to one side of a river or 8 miles if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there, each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers, each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding. Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances, for example, fur trading was illegal for colonists, it was reserved as a Company monopoly. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, each patroon was required to satisfy the Indians of that place for the land, implying that the land must be bought from the local Indians, and not just taken. Additionally, the Company agreed to all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors. For longer time than it shall see fit, Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was one of the original directors of the West India Company and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. This took place even before the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was ratified, on April 8,1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River

Rensselaerswyck
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Historical marker at the dividing line between the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and the City of Albany.
Rensselaerswyck
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Map of Rensselaerswyck, c. 1632
Rensselaerswyck
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Poster announcing an Anti-Rent meeting in the town of Nassau

29.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
–
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private research university and space-grant institution located in Troy, New York, with two additional campuses in Hartford and Groton, Connecticut. Numerous American colleges or departments of applied sciences were modeled after Rensselaer, built on a hillside, RPIs 265-acre campus overlooks the city of Troy and the Hudson River and is a blend of traditional and modern architecture. The institute operates a business incubator and the 1, 250-acre Rensselaer Technology Park. Today, Rensselaer is organized into six main schools which contain 37 departments, with emphasis on science and it is well recognized for its degree programs in engineering, computing, business and management, information technology, the sciences, design, and liberal arts. Rensselaer is ranked 39th among all colleges and universities in the U. S. News & World Report rankings. Stephen van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5,1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the schools first senior professor and appointed the first board of trustees, the school opened on Monday, January 3,1825 at the Old Bank Place, a building at the north end of Troy. Tuition was around $40 per semester, the fact that the school attracted students from as far as Ohio and Pennsylvania is attributed to the reputation of Eaton. Fourteen months of successful trial led to the incorporation of the school on March 21,1826 by the state of New York, in its early years, the Rensselaer School strongly resembled a graduate school more than it did a college, drawing graduates from many older institutions. Under Eaton, the Rensselaer School, renamed the Rensselaer Institute in 1832, was a small, the first civil engineering degrees in the United States were granted by the school in 1835, and many of the best remembered civil engineers of that time graduated from the school. Important visiting scholars included Joseph Henry, who had studied under Amos Eaton, and Thomas Davenport. In 1847 alumnus Benjamin Franklin Greene became the new senior professor, earlier he had done a thorough study of European technical schools to see how Rensselaer could be improved. In 1850 he reorganized the school into a polytechnic institute with six technical schools. In 1861 the name was changed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a severe conflagration of May 10,1862, known as The Great Fire, destroyed more than 507 buildings in Troy and gutted 75 acres in the heart of the city. The Infant School building that housed the Institute at the time was destroyed in this fire, columbia University proposed that Rensselaer leave Troy altogether and merge with its New York City campus. Ultimately, the proposal was rejected and the left the crowded downtown for the hillside. Classes were temporarily held at the Vail House and in the Troy University building until 1864, one of the first Latino student organizations in the United States was founded at RPI in 1890. The Club Hispano Americano was established by the international Latin American students that attended the institute at this time, in 1904 the Institute was for the fourth time devastated by fire, when its main building was completely destroyed

30.
Major general (United States)
–
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861

Major general (United States)
–
Lafayette in a uniform of a major general of the Continental Army.
Major general (United States)
–
Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps two-star insignia of the rank of Major General. Style and method of wear may vary between the services.

31.
War of 1812
–
Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, the primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies, the war was fought in three theatres. Second, land and naval battles were fought on the U. S. –Canadian frontier, Third, large-scale battles were fought in the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, early victories over poorly-led U. S. armies demonstrated that the conquest of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the U. S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britains Native American allies, both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. This brought an Era of Good Feelings in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened American nationalism, the war was also a major turning point in the development of the U. S. military, with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U. S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spains Mobile District, the government of Canada declared a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812 in 2012, intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border. At the conclusion of the commemorations in 2014, a new national War of 1812 Monument was unveiled in Ottawa. The war is remembered in Britain primarily as a footnote in the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe, historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarizes several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States, as Risjord notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also vindication of American identity. Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States Second War of Independence, in 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law, the American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U. S. cotton, the British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States view was that Britains restrictions violated its right to trade with others, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy expanded to 176 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become U. S. citizens and this meant that in addition to recovering naval deserters, it considered any United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalization papers and it was estimated by the Admiralty that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805

32.
Battle of Queenston Heights
–
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812 and resulted in a British victory. It took place on 13 October 1812, near Queenston, Upper Canada, the battle was fought as the result of an American attempt to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River before campaigning ended with the onset of winter. This decisive battle was the culmination of a poorly managed American offensive, as a result, British reinforcements arrived and defeated the unsupported American forces, forcing them to surrender. The United States invasion across the Niagara River was originally intended to be part of an attack on Upper Canadas border strongpoints. These attacks were expected to bring the colony to its knees, however, the four attacks on Upper Canada failed or were not even launched. Hull was besieged in Detroit and, fearing a massacre by Britains Native American allies, surrendered the town, Dearborn and his army remained relatively inactive at Albany, New York and seemed to be in no hurry to attempt an invasion. Van Rensselaer was also unable to launch any immediate attack on the Niagara Peninsula, lacking troops, Van Rensselaer secured the appointment of his second cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, as his aide-de-camp. Solomon van Rensselaer was a soldier, and a valuable source of advice to the General. Major General Isaac Brock was both the civil Administrator of Upper Canada and Commander of the forces there. However, his superior at Quebec, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, was of a more cautious bent, Brock had hastened back from Detroit, intending to cross the Niagara, defeat Van Rensselaer before he could be reinforced and occupy upper New York State. Prevost vetoed this plan, ordering Brock to behave more defensively and he believed that peace negotiations might result and did not wish to prejudice any talks by taking offensive action. He opened negotiations with General Dearborn, and arranged local armistices, the United States government rejected Prevosts approach, and ordered Dearborn to proceed with the utmost vigor in your operations, after giving Prevost notice of the resumption of hostilities. However, it several weeks for this correspondence to travel between Washington and the frontier. While Brock had been at Detroit, Major General Sheaffe had been in command of the troops on the Niagara, Brock returned to the Niagara on 22 August, to find the armistice in effect. The armistice ended on 8 September, by which time Van Rensselaers army was better supplied than it had been before. The one aggressive action which Brock was able to take during the armistice was to facilitate the Siege of Fort Wayne on the Maumee River, even with Hulls failure and Dearborns inaction, Van Rensselaers situation appeared strong. On 1 September he had only 691 unpaid men fit for duty, in addition to his own force of around 6,000 regulars, volunteers and militia, Van Rensselaer had Brigadier General Alexander Smyths force of 1,700 regular soldiers under his command. However, Smyth, who was a regular officer although a lawyer by trade, as soon as his force reached the frontier, Smyth deployed his force near Buffalo, New York, at the head of the Niagara River

Battle of Queenston Heights
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"Push on, brave York Volunteers!" A mortally wounded Brock urges the York Volunteers forward Apocryphal reconstruction, oil on canvas.
Battle of Queenston Heights
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The Battle of Queenston Heights by eyewitness James B. Dennis depicts the unsuccessful American landing on 13 October 1812. The village of Queenston is in the right foreground, with Queenston Heights behind. Lewiston is in the left foreground
Battle of Queenston Heights
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General Isaac Brock leading the charge.

33.
Anti-Rent War
–
The Anti-Rent War was a tenants revolt in upstate New York during the early 19th century. The incident began with the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer III in 1839, during his life, he preferred to allow rents to accumulate or to accept partial payment when tenants were in financial constraints. The patroons owned all the land on which the tenants in the Hudson Valley lived, when he died, Van Rensselaers will directed his heirs to collect outstanding rents to apply to the estate debts. When his heirs attempted to collect the rents which he had long deferred, the tenants could not pay the amounts demanded, could not secure favorable terms, and could not obtain relief in the courts, so they revolted. The first mass meeting of tenant farmers leading to the Anti-Rent War was held in Berne, in January 1845, one hundred and fifty delegates from eleven counties assembled in St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Berne to call for political action to redress their grievances. The Anti-Rent War led to the creation of the Antirenter Party, trials of leaders of the revolt, charged with riot, conspiracy and robbery, were held in 1845. Participants as counsel in the trials included Ambrose L. Jordan, as leading counsel for the defense, and John Van Buren, the attorney general. At the first trial, the jury came to no conclusion, during a re-trial in September 1845, the two leading counsels started a fist-fight in open court. Both were sentenced by the judge, Justice John W. Edmonds. At the conclusion of the trial, one defendant, Smith A. Boughton, was sentenced to life imprisonment, after the election of John Young as governor, who had the support of the Anti-Renters, he pardoned Boughton. Lawrence Van Deusen, president of the Anti-Rent Association of Albany County, anya Setons novel Dragonwyck is set during the Anti-Rent War. Ford, Eric, New Yorks Anti-rent War 1845–1846, Contemporary Review, kubik, Dorothy, A Free Soil — A Free People, The Anti-Rent War in Delaware County, New York, ISBN 0-935796-86-X. McCurdy, Charles W, The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839–1865, ISBN 0-8078-2590-5

Anti-Rent War
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Poster announcing an Anti-Rent meeting in the town of Nassau

34.
List of richest Americans in history
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Virtually all sources agree on John D. Rockefeller Sr. being the richest American in history. The second place is disputed, held by Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor, Bill Gates or Henry Ford depending on the source, further places are a matter of even bigger debate. Bill Gates was the top living person, coming in fifth, American Heritage published a list of 40 richest Americans ever in 1998. William Weightman Forbes listed the richest Americans of all time in 1998, business Insider agreed on Rockefeller in first, but placed Andrew Carnegie second, followed by Vanderbilt, and Gates. Warren Buffett Bernstein and Swan in All the Money in the World mention the 15 richest Americans of all time, warren Buffett This list names the richest American by half decade starting in 1770

List of richest Americans in history
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A caricature of John D. Rockefeller published in Puck in 1901

35.
GDP
–
Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units engaged in production. ”An IMF publication states that GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services - that is. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the population of the region is the per capita GDP. William Petty came up with a concept of GDP to defend landlords against unfair taxation during warfare between the Dutch and the English between 1652 and 1674. Charles Davenant developed the method further in 1695, the modern concept of GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a US Congress report in 1934. In this report, Kuznets warned against its use as a measure of welfare, after the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, GDP became the main tool for measuring a countrys economy. The switch from GNP to GDP in the US was in 1991, the history of the concept of GDP should be distinguished from the history of changes in ways of estimating it. The value added by firms is relatively easy to calculate from their accounts, but the value added by the sector, by financial industries. GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should, in principle, give the same result and they are the production approach, the income approach, or the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the factors must be equal to the value of their product. This approach mirrors the OECD definition given above, deduct intermediate consumption from gross value to obtain the gross value added. Gross value added = gross value of output – value of intermediate consumption, value of output = value of the total sales of goods and services plus value of changes in the inventories. The sum of the value added in the various economic activities is known as GDP at factor cost. GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes less subsidies on products = GDP at producer price, for measuring output of domestic product, economic activities are classified into various sectors. Subtracting each sectors intermediate consumption from gross output gives the GDP at factor cost, adding indirect tax minus subsidies in GDP at factor cost gives the GDP at producer prices

GDP
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A map of world economies by size of GDP (nominal) in USD, World Bank, 2014.

36.
Patroon
–
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and these inducements to foster colonization and settlement are the basis for the patroon system. In 1775, at the outbreak of the American Revolution, primogeniture and feudal tenure were abolished and thus patroons and manors evolved into simply large estates subject to division and leases. The deeded tracts were called patroonships and could span 16 miles in length on one side of a major river, in 1640 the charter was revised to cut new plot sizes in half, and to allow any Dutch American in good standing to purchase an estate. The title of patroon came with powerful rights and privileges, a patroon could create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity. As tenants working for the patroon, these first settlers were relieved of the duty of public taxes for ten years, a patroonship sometimes had its own village and other infrastructure, including churches. After the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664, the system continued with the granting of large tracts known as manors, the largest and most successful patroonship in New Netherland was the Manor of Rensselaerswijck, established by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Rensselaerswijck covered almost all of present-day Albany and Rensselaer counties and parts of present-day Columbia, Manor of Rensselaerswyck and Lower Manor at Claverack. Zwaanendael - Samuel Blommaert and Samuel Godyn, abandoned after being decimated by indigenous population, pavonia - Michael Reyniersz Pauw, re-sold to the West India Company becoming a company-managed holding. Staaten Eylandt - Cornelis Melyn, mired in conflict with Raritan tribe, achter Col, aborted at the outset of Kiefts War. Colen Donck - Adriaen van der Donck Bronx - Jonas Bronck Vriessendael - David Pietersen de Vries Bentley Manor - Christopher Billopp, ethnic Dutch, who were still a substantial part of the population, resented the change and moved mostly toward the cause of the Independence movement. After the war, the newly recognized New York State government refused to overturn the law, Rensselaerswijck was dismantled in the early 19th century after its last sole proprietor died. Two sons split the property and, after tenant farmers gained the right to refuse to pay rent, the land was organized as different counties and towns in New Yorks Capital District

Patroon

37.
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
–
He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New Yorks Capital District and his estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War, Van Rensselaer was the son of Hendrick Kiliaensz van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the States army of the duke of Upper Saxony, and Maria Pafraet, descendant of a well-known printers dynasty. To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle and he too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception. The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaers, he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died sometime after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer had a marked effect on the history of the United States. Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands in 1586, the exact day of his birth is unknown. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet and his father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the Siege of Ostend in early June 1602. With his father usually not home because of a career, Van Rensselaers mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, Wolfert van Bijler. At the time, the gem trade was an enterprise to join. In those days, the trade was nearly always combined with the trade in pearls, other articles of luxury. Dutch jewelers found a market for their valuable wares at the Dutch imperial court. This realm of work promoted Van Rensselaer to a life of economic success, much of Van Rensselaers early life is unknown to todays historians, though in March 1608 it has been recorded that he was taking care of some business of Van Bijler in Prague. It seems Van Bijler gradually retired from his business, leaving it in the control of Van Rensselaer, the firms combined under the name of Jan van Wely & Co. in February 1614. Van Rensselaers name was not included in the name of the new company, since he contributed only one eighth of the investment capital, in 1616, van Wely was called on by Prince Maurice to meet at the Hague for a sale in jewels. He was murdered while waiting to meet with the Prince, the firms contract stipulated that at the death of Jan van Wely, the remaining members of the firm should continue the partnership for another six years. Some of Van Rensselaers success as a jewel merchant came about due to trade made possible by the Dutch East India Company, the practical spirit of the Dutch merchant could not fail to recognize that the way to riches was through trade with the West Indies and Africa. During the Twelve Years Truce, Dutch merchants had sailed unmolested to the West Indies, before the Eighty Years War began, people realized that the West Indies trade might bring great prosperity to the country and that more power might be developed against Spain

Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
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Kiliaen van Rensselaer
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
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The West India House in Amsterdam, headquarters of the Dutch West India Company from 1623 to 1647
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
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Rensselaer family gravestone in the church of Nijkerk, that Kiliaen bought commemorating his father Hendrick and uncle Johan. He probably purchased this when his first wife died, as her family name, Byllaer, is on the stone in the lower right. Kiliaen named his sons Hendrick and Johan after these men.
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
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Memorial stone in Oude Kerk indicating a burial date

38.
Philip Livingston
–
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, Philip graduated from Yale College in 1737 and returned to Albany to serve a mercantile apprenticeship with his father. Through his fathers influence, he also obtained clerkships in Albanys local government and he then settled in New York City and pursued a career in the import business, trading with the British sugar islands in the West Indies. During King Georges War, Livingston made his fortune provisioning and privateering and he also speculated heavily in real estate. He had a townhouse on Duke Street in Manhattan and also a forty-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights. He became a merchant, and served as an Alderman of the East Ward from 1754 through 1762, also in 1754, he went as a delegate to the Albany Congress. There, he joined delegates from other colonies to negotiate with Indians and discuss common plans for dealing with the French. Livingston became a promoter of efforts to raise and fund troops for the war. According to Cynthia A. Kiemer, he owned shares in six privateers and he served as a member of the provincial house of representatives from 1763 to 1769 and in 1768 served as Speaker. In October 1765, he attended the Stamp Act Congress, which produced the first formal protest to the crown as a prelude to the American Revolution. He joined New York Citys Committee of Correspondence to continue communication with leaders in the other colonies, when New York established the New York Provincial Congress in 1775, he was the President. He was selected as one of the delegates to the Continental Congress and his brother William, a prominent lawyer in New Jersey, was also a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to June 1776. In July 1775, Philip signed the Olive Branch Petition, an attempt to achieve an understanding with the Crown. When the British occupied New York City, Philip and his family fled to Kingston, after the Battle of Long Island, Washington and his officers met at Philip’s residence in Brooklyn Heights and decided to evacuate the island. The British subsequently used Philip’s Duke Street home as a barracks, after the adoption of the new New York State Constitution, he was appointed to the New York State Senate in 1777, while continuing to sit in the Continental Congress. Livingston suffered from dropsy and his health deteriorated in 1778 and he died suddenly while attending the sixth session of Congress in York, Pennsylvania, and is buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery there. Livingston was a Presbyterian, and a Mason, on April 14,1740 he married Christina Ten Broeck, daughter of Dirck Ten Broeck and Margarita Cuyler. Christina was the sister of Abraham Ten Broeck and the great-granddaughter of Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck, through her maternal grandfather, after his death, she married Eilardus Westerlo

Philip Livingston
–
Philip Livingston

39.
United States Declaration of Independence
–
Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast, a committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term Declaration of Independence is not used in the document itself, John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The next day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, but Independence Day is actually celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was approved. After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms and it was initially published as the printed Dunlap broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The source copy used for printing has been lost. Jeffersons original draft, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, the best known version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is popularly regarded as the official document, is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19, the sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. Having served its purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Declaration were few in the following years. Abraham Lincoln made it the centerpiece of his rhetoric, and his policies and this has been called one of the best-known sentences in the English language, containing the most potent and consequential words in American history. The passage came to represent a standard to which the United States should strive. Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose, and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. By the time that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776, relations had been deteriorating between the colonies and the mother country since 1763. Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase revenue from the colonies, such as the Stamp Act of 1765, Parliament believed that these acts were a legitimate means of having the colonies pay their fair share of the costs to keep them in the British Empire. Many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the empire, the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, and colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them. This tax dispute was part of a divergence between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliaments authority in the colonies. In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain fundamental rights that no government could violate, after the Townshend Acts, some essayists even began to question whether Parliament had any legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all

United States Declaration of Independence
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1823 facsimile of the engrossed copy
United States Declaration of Independence
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Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration
United States Declaration of Independence
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The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
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This idealized depiction of (left to right) Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson working on the Declaration (Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1900) was widely reprinted.

40.
Beverwyck Manor
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Beverwyck Manor is a historic home located at Rensselaer in Rensselaer County, New York. It was built between 1839 and 1842 and it is constructed of stucco over brick and consists of a three story, three bay wide central block with the central bay recessed. The central block is flanked by two story, single bay extensions and it has a restrained Neoclassical facade and features a one bay portico with stone steps and four Ionic order stone columns. It was built by William Patterson Van Rensselaer and later became part St. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. NY-5-A-10, Beverwyck, Washinghton Avenue extension, Rensselaer, Rensselaer County, NY,6 photos,15 measured drawings,2 photo caption pages, supplemental material

Beverwyck Manor
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Beverwyck Manor

41.
Philip S. Van Rensselaer
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Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer was the Mayor of Albany, New York on two occasions. He has the third longest tenure of service by an Albany Mayor, after Erastus Corning II, Philip S. Van Rensselaer was born in Albany on April 15,1767. A son of Stephen Van Rensselaer II and Catharina Livingston, he was raised and educated at Van Rensselaer Manor, after his fathers death his mother married Eilardus Westerlo, a member of another prominent Albany area family. He was the brother of Stephen Van Rensselaer III and the grandson of Philip Livingston, abraham Ten Broeck was his uncle. As an adult, Van Rensselaer lived in Albany and became a successful businessman, among his activities, he was the President of the Bank of Albany, a Trustee of Union College, and a founder of The Albany Academy. He owned several warehouses, extensive land along Albanys Hudson River waterfront and his mills were destroyed by fire in 1820. In 1793 Van Rensselaer became an Alderman and he served as Mayor from 1799 to 1816, and was succeeded by Elisha Jenkins. Van Rensselaer returned to office from 1819 to 1820, and was succeeded by Charles E. Dudley, during his time as Mayor, a permanent New York State Capitol building was constructed just in front of the current one, and Van Rensselaer laid the cornerstone. During his term, Robert Fultons steamboat Clermont arrived in Albany at the end of its first voyage, Van Rensselaer was active as a Freemason, and served as New Yorks Grand Master from 1793 to 1795. He died in Albany on September 25,1824 and he was buried at Van Rensselaer Manor, and was later reinterred at Albany Rural Cemetery. Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Van Rensselaer A Guide to the Papers of Angelica Schuyler Church – University of Virginia Library

Philip S. Van Rensselaer
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Contents

42.
Mayor of Albany, New York
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From 1779 until 1839, mayors were chosen by the New York States Council of Appointment, typically for a one-year term that began in September. From 1840 on, Albanys mayors were elected by the citys residents. Beginning in 1886, mayoral terms began on January 1 of the year after the mayor was elected, a total of 74 men and one woman have served as mayor since the Citys inception, eighteen of them served multiple terms that were not consecutive. Erastus Corning 2nd served for over 40 years, longer any other mayor of any other major United States city. Kathy Sheehan is the current mayor, she was first elected in 2013, began service on January 1,2014, since Thomas M. Whalen IIIs death in 2002, Gerald Jennings and Kathy Sheehan are the only living mayors of Albany. Albany mayoral election,2009 Source for the names and years, Mayors of Albany, 1686-1997, Biographical Sketches, Albany, Capital City on the Hudson, An Illustrated History. Sun Valley, California, American Historical Press, mayor Erastus Corning, Albany Icon, Albany Enigma, Paul Grondahl

43.
Princeton College
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Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The institution moved to Newark in 1747, then to the current site nine years later, Princeton provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. The university has ties with the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton has the largest endowment per student in the United States. The university has graduated many notable alumni, two U. S. Presidents,12 U. S. Supreme Court Justices, and numerous living billionaires and foreign heads of state are all counted among Princetons alumni body. New Light Presbyterians founded the College of New Jersey in 1746 in order to train ministers, the college was the educational and religious capital of Scots-Irish America. In 1754, trustees of the College of New Jersey suggested that, in recognition of Governors interest, gov. Jonathan Belcher replied, What a name that would be. In 1756, the moved to Princeton, New Jersey. Its home in Princeton was Nassau Hall, named for the royal House of Orange-Nassau of William III of England, following the untimely deaths of Princetons first five presidents, John Witherspoon became president in 1768 and remained in that office until his death in 1794. During his presidency, Witherspoon shifted the focus from training ministers to preparing a new generation for leadership in the new American nation. To this end, he tightened academic standards and solicited investment in the college, in 1812, the eighth president the College of New Jersey, Ashbel Green, helped establish the Princeton Theological Seminary next door. The plan to extend the theological curriculum met with approval on the part of the authorities at the College of New Jersey. Today, Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary maintain separate institutions with ties that include such as cross-registration. Before the construction of Stanhope Hall in 1803, Nassau Hall was the sole building. The cornerstone of the building was laid on September 17,1754, during the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall, making Princeton the countrys capital for four months. The class of 1879 donated twin lion sculptures that flanked the entrance until 1911, Nassau Halls bell rang after the halls construction, however, the fire of 1802 melted it. The bell was then recast and melted again in the fire of 1855, James McCosh took office as the colleges president in 1868 and lifted the institution out of a low period that had been brought about by the American Civil War. McCosh Hall is named in his honor, in 1879, the first thesis for a Doctor of Philosophy Ph. D. was submitted by James F. Williamson, Class of 1877. In 1896, the officially changed its name from the College of New Jersey to Princeton University to honor the town in which it resides

Princeton College
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A commemorative 3-cent stamp from 1953 celebrating the bicentennial of Nassau Hall
Princeton College
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Seal of Princeton University
Princeton College
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John Witherspoon, President of the College (1768-94), signer of the Declaration of Independence
Princeton College
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A Birds-eye view of campus in 1906

44.
American Revolution
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The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress determined King George IIIs rule to be tyrannical and infringing the rights as Englishmen. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, Congress rejected British proposals requiring allegiance to the monarchy and abandonment of independence. The British were forced out of Boston in 1776, but then captured and they blockaded the ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but failed to defeat Washingtons forces. After a failed Patriot invasion of Canada, a British army was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, the lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement. For the prior history, see Thirteen Colonies, in 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money which British merchants saw as a means to evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles, none did and Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets—even decks of playing cards—were required to have the stamps, the colonists did not object that the taxes were high, but because they had no representation in the Parliament. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire, stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British officers who became redundant, in 1765, the Sons of Liberty formed. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable, in Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765, moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise, the Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval

45.
Phi Beta Kappa
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The Phi Beta Kappa Society - the oldest honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States - is widely recognized and considered as the nations most prestigious honor society. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the arts and sciences and to induct the most outstanding students of arts. Phi Beta Kappa stands for Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης or in Latin letters Philosophia Biou Cybernētēs, according to Phi Beta Kappa, they have chapters in about 10% of American higher learning institutions, and about 10% of these schools Arts and Sciences graduates are invited to join the society. Although most students are elected their senior year, many colleges elect a limited number of extremely select students in their junior year. There is an initiation fee, which is sometimes covered by the inductees university. There had been earlier fraternal societies at the College, but these, Society, founded in 1750, were Latin-letter societies, their names were taken from initial letters of a secret Latin motto. William and Mary alumnus and third U. S. President Thomas Jefferson was perhaps the most famous member of the F. H. C, other notable members of the original Society included Col. James Innes, St. George Tucker, and George Wythe. Jefferson noted that When I was a student of Wm. & Mary college of this state, Society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member, but it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists. The best opinion is that the society did not survive the invasion by British forces during the Revolution, a second Latin-letter fraternity at William and Mary was the P. D. A. John Heath, chief organizer of Phi Beta Kappa, according to tradition earlier sought but was refused admission to the P. D. A, though he may instead have disdained to join it. The new society was intended to be purely of domestic manufacture, without any connexion whatever with anything European, either English or German. The founders of Phi Beta Kappa declared that the society was formed for congeniality and to good fellowship, with friendship as its basis and benevolence. Like the older, Latin-letter fraternities, the Phi Beta Kappa was a secret society, the new society was given the motto, Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης or in Latin letters Philosophia Biou Kybernētēs, which means in English The Love for Knowledge be the Guide of Life. Greek was chosen, because Greek was in Roman times the language of science like Latin in medieval times, one official historian of the society, William T. The heading on the original list of states, A List of the members. This new complex of gestures was created to allow the recognition of members in any foreign country or place. A second chapter was founded at Yale College in late 1780, a third, at Harvard College in 1781, from these new chapters, the Phi Beta Kappa evolved from a fraternity with principally academic and some social purposes to an entirely honorary organization recognizing scholastic achievement. Further chapters appeared at Union College in 1817, Bowdoin College in 1825, the original chapter at William and Mary was re-established

46.
Albany Public Library
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Albany Public Library is a public library system serving the city of Albany, New York. The library has seven branches located in neighborhoods of Albany. The branches are circulating libraries that are open to the general public, the library was developed in the 19th century, founded from society libraries and the wealth of private citizens, and currently holds a collection of 250,000 items. In January,1834, the Young Men’s Association for Mutual Improvement opened a room with 800 volumes and 100 newspapers. The Albany Public Library grew out of reading room, which remained a subscription library with a $2.00 per annum fee until 1899. The first free library in the city of Albany, NY, in 1900, the Albany Free Library opened the Pine Hills Branch at 272 Ontario Street. In 1901, the Pruyn Library opened at 135 North Pearl under the trusteeship of the YMA, in 1922, the YMA, Pruyn Library, and Albany Free Library merged to become the Albany Public Library with Elizabeth Smith as its first director. In 1923, Albany Public Library and the City of Albany reached an agreement to provide services. In 1924, the Harmanus Bleecker Library was constructed at 19 Dove Street, Howe Branch was constructed at Schuyler and Broad Streets. In 1944, the New Scotland Branch opened in Public School 19, in 1968, the Pruyn Library closed, and in 1970, it was razed as part of the I-787 arterial ramp construction plan. In 1977, APL moved its headquarters from 19 Dove Street to 161 Washington Avenue, in 2002, APL was re-chartered from an association library to a school district library. In 2005, the North Albany Branch opened off the lobby of the North Albany YMCA, as of June,2010, APL completed a $29.1 million Branch Improvement Plan—the first comprehensive infrastructure project in its history. The plan involved renovating three existing branches—Pine Hills, Delaware, and Howe—along with constructing two new branches—John J. Bach and Arbor Hill/West Hill, all five of these branches are energy efficient silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings. Newly constructed in 2010, the $5.7 million,12, 000-square-foot contemporary building features a 60-foot-by-24-foot wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, a soaring atrium ceiling, and an indoor garden. The open-space floor plan includes separate areas for adults, teens and it is the first-ever library to serve the West Hill neighborhood, and the first to serve the Arbor Hill, Albany, New York neighborhood since 1970. The building was designed by architects Hom & Goldman of New York City, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York managed the project. The Arbor Hill/West Hill Branch of APL received the 2011 Outstanding Public Library Building Award from New York Library Association, newly constructed in 2009, the $4 million,8, 500-square-foot contemporary building features a glass-walled rotunda that provides sweeping views of New Scotland Avenue. Two walls of windows at the rear of the showcase the backyard Story Garden

47.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor

48.
American Colonization Society
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It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 on the coast of West Africa as a place for free-born American blacks. The two opposed groups found common ground in support of so-called repatriation, among the societys supporters were Charles Fenton Mercer, Henry Clay, John Randolph, Richard Bland Lee and Bushrod Washington. From 1821, thousands of blacks, who faced legislated restrictions in the U. S. moved to Liberia. Over twenty years, the continued to grow and establish economic stability. In 1847, the legislature of Liberia declared the nation an independent state, the society closely controlled the development of Liberia until its declaration of independence. By 1867, the ACS had assisted in the movement of more than 13,000 Americans to Liberia, from 1825 to 1919, it published the African Repository and Colonial Journal. After 1919, the society had essentially ended, but it did not formally dissolve until 1964, in the first two decades after the Revolutionary War, the percentage of free blacks rose in Virginia, for instance, from 1% to nearly 10% of the black population. Although the ratio of whites to blacks was 4,1 between 1790 and 1800, it was the increase in the number of free African Americans that disturbed some proponents of colonization. The perception of change was highest in major cities, but especially in the Upper South. This steady increase did not go unnoticed by a white community that was ever more aware of the free blacks in their midst. The arguments propounded against free blacks, especially in states, may be divided into four main categories. It was claimed they were licentious beings who would draw whites into their savage, the fears of an intermingling of the races were strong and underlay much of the outcry for removal. African-Americans had a tendency toward criminality, African-Americans were supposed mental inferiors, contending it made them unfit for the duties of citizenship and incapable of real improvement. Economic arguments were advanced, most notably by those who said that the presence of free blacks threatened the jobs of working-class whites in the North. Southerners had their reservations about free blacks, fearing that those living in slave areas caused unrest among slaves and encouraged runaways. They also had reservations about the ability of free blacks to conform. The proposed solution was to have free blacks deported from the United States to colonize parts of Africa, paul Cuffee was a mixed-race, successful Quaker ship owner, and activist descended from Ashanti and Wampanoag parents. Cuffee was an advocate of settling freed blacks in Africa

American Colonization Society
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Three early organizers of the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States (popularly known as the American Colonization Society) were (left to right) John Randolph, Henry Clay, and Richard Bland Lee.
American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
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Paul Cuffee in 1812.

49.
New York State Route 5
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New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for 370.80 miles across the state of New York in the United States. S. Route 9, here routed along the roads for Interstate 787. Prior to the construction of the New York State Thruway, it was one of two main east–west highways traversing upstate New York, the other being US20, West of New York, NY5 continues as Pennsylvania Route 5 to Erie. NY5 overlaps with US20 twice along its routing, the second, a 68-mile overlap through western and central New York, is the second-longest concurrency in the state, stretching from Avon east to the city of Auburn in Cayuga County. The concurrency is known locally as Routes 5 and 20, as the route proceeds across the state, it also directly or indirectly meets every major north–south highway in upstate New York, including all three north–south Interstate Highways. NY5 was assigned in 1924 as a true cross-state highway, extending from the Pennsylvania state line in the west to the Massachusetts state line in the east, at the time, modern NY5 between Buffalo and Albany was designated as New York State Route 5A. By 1926, NY5 was moved onto the routing of NY 5A while the old routing of NY5 became NY7. It was truncated in 1927 to Athol Springs in the west and Albany in the east following the assignment of US20, and again in 1930 to downtown Buffalo. NY5 was reextended to the Pennsylvania state line c. 1932 by way of its old routing to Athol Springs, an old alignment of US20, only local realignments have occurred since. Although it is no commonly used for long distance travel. NY5 is named Main Street in Buffalo, Erie Boulevard and West Genesee Street in Syracuse, State Street in Schenectady, and Central Avenue in Albany and it is a major local road in many other locations along its path. NY5 runs concurrent to US20 twice between its endpoints, for three miles between Silver Creek and Irving and for 68 miles across western and central New York. At 67.6 miles in length, the overlap between US20 and NY5 is the longest surface-road concurrency in New York state, behind only the concurrency of I-86. Maintenance of the majority of NY 5s 371 miles is performed by the New York State Department of Transportation, however, locally owned and maintained sections exist in six cities. At the New York–Pennsylvania border in Ripley, PA5 becomes NY5 upon entering New York and it very closely follows the shore of Lake Erie through all of Chautauqua County. Once reaching the village of Silver Creek it briefly overlaps US20 until entering Erie County at the Cattaraugus Reservation, once in Erie County it pulls slightly inward from the lake shore from Brant to the hamlet of Wanakah. Near the northern edge of the city, NY5 begins to ascend onto an elevated roadway as it connects to Ridge Road, here, the route becomes the Buffalo Skyway, a limited-access highway with exits for Ohio and Tifft streets and Fuhrmann Boulevard. After a quarter-mile, NY5 passes seamlessly into the city of Buffalo, a short distance past the city line, NY5 passes over the Union Ship Canal on a span of the elevated road known as the Father Baker Bridge

50.
Suffrage
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Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections. The right to run for office is sometimes called candidate eligibility, in many languages, the right to vote is called the active right to vote and the right to run for office is called the passive right to vote. In English, these are called active suffrage and passive suffrage. Suffrage is often conceived in terms of elections for representatives, however, suffrage applies equally to referenda and initiatives. Suffrage describes not only the right to vote, but also the practical question of whether a question will be put to a vote. The utility of suffrage is reduced when important questions are decided unilaterally by elected or non-elected representatives, in most democracies, eligible voters can vote in elections of representatives. Voting on issues by referendum may also be available, for example, in Switzerland this is permitted at all levels of government. The United States federal government does not offer any initiatives at all, Suffrage is granted to qualifying citizens once they have reached the voting age. What constitutes a qualifying citizen depends on the governments decision, resident non-citizens can vote in some countries, which may be restricted to citizens of closely linked countries. The word suffrage comes from Latin suffragium, meaning vote, political support, and the right to vote. The etymology of the Latin word is uncertain, with sources citing Latin suffragari lend support, vote for someone, from sub under + fragor crash, din, shouts. Other sources say that attempts to connect suffragium with fragor cannot be taken seriously, some etymologists think the word may be related to suffrago and may have originally meant an ankle bone or knuckle bone. Universal suffrage consists of the right to vote without restriction due to sex, race, social status, education level, or wealth. It typically does not extend the right to vote to all residents of a region, distinctions are made in regard to citizenship, age. The short-lived Corsican Republic was the first country to grant limited universal suffrage to all citizens over the age of 25 and this was followed by other experiments in the Paris Commune of 1871 and the island republic of Franceville. The 1840 constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii granted universal suffrage to all male and female adults, so Finland was the first country in the world to give all citizens full suffrage, in other words the right to vote and to run for office. New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant all citizens the right to vote, Womens suffrage is, by definition, the right of women to vote. This was the goal of the suffragists in the United States, short-lived suffrage equity was drafted into provisions of the State of New Jerseys first,1776 Constitution, which extended the Right to Vote to unwed female landholders & black land owners

51.
Solomon van Rensselaer
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Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer was a United States Representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years. Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9,1774 in East Greenbush, New York and he completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush. He appointed as a cornet United States Army in 1792, was promoted to captain in July 1793 and he was an adjutant general of New York in 1801,1810, and 1813, and served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant colonel of New York State Militia. He was elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth United States Congresses, and served from March 4,1819 to January 14,1822, when he resigned. He was postmaster of Albany, New York from 1822 to 1839, and from 1841 to 1843, in January 1797, he married his cousin, Harriet Arriet Van Rensselaer, the daughter of Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the owner of Cherry Hill. Van Vechten Van Rensselaer, who died aged 6, rufus King Van Rensselaer, who died aged 3 months. Margarita Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer, who died aged 10 months, Harriet Maria Van Rensselaer, who married Dr. Peter Elmendorf Catharine Visscher Van Rensselaer, who married Rev. Samuel W. Bonney in 1856. Van Rensselaer died near Albany, aged 77 and he was interred in the North Dutch Church Cemetery, in Albany, and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery. His home at Albany, Cherry Hill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, as his sons had all predeceased Solomon, his daughter, Harriet Maria Elmendorf inherited Cherry Hill. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, fellow Citizens Read a Horrid Tale